macdonald



M. M. MACDONALD.

Sponge-Cup.

No. 196,983. Patented Nov. 13, 1877.

, v ,Zwam" N. PETERS, PNOTO-LITHOGHAFHER, WASNIIGTON. D C.

MANVILL M MAcDonAnn, a; .s eAcUsn, New YORK.

ma num in fin pifiq an m ng ra t 9 Le t r lht ii Nq 196.?283, dated Novm e 13, 77 i nrl w filed June. 2 71, a i i To all whom it mayconjcern; v1

Be it known that I, MANVILL M. MAoDoN- Ann, of Syracuse, inthe county ofOnondaga and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Sponge-Cups; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof,

which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,andto letters of reference marked thereon,

which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a combined inkstand and sponge-cupembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section, showing anotherarrangement. Fig. 3 is a plan or top view' of the ink and sponge holderof Fig. 2, having the cover and the pen-guard removed; and Fig. 4 is adetached View of the pen-guard.

Ais the water-holder or tank, connected with a smaller water holder orcup, A, by means of a throat, a. The parts A A may be round,

square, or other suitable form. a is a flange projecting inwardly fromthe upper edge of the water holder or socket A. B is a cup designed tocontain ink, and [suspended within socket A by a shoulder, b, whichrests upon the flange a. B is a tubular sponge-receiver arrangedcentrally within the inkcup B and made open top and bottom. 0 is acoverv to exclude dirt from the sponge and ink when desired. Drepresents one leg of a pen-support, one of which is mounted in asocket, D, on each side of the tank A, as is indicated in dotted lines.

It will be readily seen that if tank Abe filled with water, (as canreadily be done by taking out the ink-cup and tipping the tank up untilwater poured in socket A will run through (0,) and the parts then placedin the position shown, the water will flow from the tank into the socketuntil it rises in the socket above the upper line of the throat, whenthe flow will cease until, by evaporation or otherwise, it falls in thesocket below the upper line of throat a, when more water will pass fromthe tank into the socket, and so on, thus keeping a constant supply inthe socket and sponge until the tank is emptied. In Figs. 2, 3, and 4 Ihave shown a modification of this part of my invention with someadditions.

.in the tank is exhausted.

E is the outen shell "of the tank or water holder, preferably circularinform, and provided at the bottom with a filling-orifice, e, and stopper6 E 'is'a, socket arranged centrally within the shell E,'leaving anannular water-space between them, which communicates with'the interiorof socket E through throat e F F represent the ink-cup and sponge-receiver, the ink-cup F being divided into compartments f f f f bysuitable partitions, the

' design being to put different kinds of ink into three of thesecompartments, the fourth one being closed on top. The outer wall of thiscup may be made double, as shown, or single, as may be preferred.

Another advantage possessed by my construction is this: when the cover His in place the evaporation of water from. ihe sponge will keep the airunder the cover saturated with moisture, and thus prevent the ink fromdrying up.

G represents a pen-guard, circular in form, to fit accurately the upperedge of the ink-cup, and having a hole'to pass over the sponge-receiverF.

' G is an opening. in this pen-guard,corresponding substantially in sizeand form to the upper parts of the ink-compartments ff f from only oneof them at atime, while by mov-.

ing this opening over the space f dirt will be excluded from the ink,even though the cover H be left off. When preferred, however, allfourcompartments may be used for ink.

It will be readily seen that if the water-space between the outer shellE and the socket E be filled through the opening 6, and the stopper 0put in, and the parts turned right-side up, water will'flow into thelower part of said socket through throat e and that there will be asmall quantity kept there until the supply Thus the sponge I in bothconstructions will be kept wetted, and may be used for wiping pens upon.

It will also be seen that socket'A or E may be used as a sponge-receiverunder many circumstances where a wetted sponge is required, oncounting-room desks or cashiers desks, wherea person desires to'wet ordampen his fin gers'frequently, and in such cases my construction willbe found very convenient, from the fact that only a small quantity ofwater will run into the bottom of either socket at a time; hence theupper part of the sponge will contain at all times a uniform amount ofmoisture; hence I do not wish to be limited to putting the sponge in thereceiver B or F.

I do not claim, broadly, the construction of tank and socket shown inFig. l, yetI believe 1' that I am the first to combine a sponge with awater-tank and a spionge-receiver under the arrangement shown, wherebythe distance which the sponge lifts the water by capillary attraction,and consequently the amount of moisture in the upper part of the sponge,is substantially the same whether the tank be filled with water or benearly empty.

What I claim is- 1. The combination, with the water-tank, of the socket,the ink-cup, and the sponge-receiver, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a circular ink-cup divided into compartments, asponge-receiver arranged centrally of the ink-cup, and a penguard, Gr,having a central opening, and surrounding and rotating about thesponge-receiver, substantially asset forth.

3. The combination, with the ink-cup and the sponge-receiver, of thecover inclosing both the ink-cup and the sponge, substantially as setforth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

MANVILL M. MACDONALD.

Witnesses:

CHAS. G. ROBINSON, WM. R. MILLER.

